Two Plead Guilty to Involvement in Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Racketeering Murder

HOUSTON - An Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) gang member and an ABT associate have pleaded guilty to charges related to a May 2008 murder of an ABT prospect member in Atascosa County.

The guilty pleas were announced today by United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson and Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Shane Gail McNiel, aka “Dirty,” 34, of San Antonio, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to the charge of accessory after the fact in the murder. Destiny Nicole Feathers, 24, of Jourdanton, pleaded guilty to the same offense on Aug. 14, 2013.

According to their plea agreements, McNiel and Feathers helped hide a shotgun that they knew had been used to murder the victim. Following the murder, Urbish and Feathers drove to McNiel’s house with the shotgun wrapped in a sheet and gave it to McNiel who then hid the shotgun in a metal shed behind his house. According to court documents, Feathers further assisted McIntyre by disposing of the victim’s bloody clothing.

According to court documents, the ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system. The gang modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s. Previously, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy/separatism. Over time, the ABT has expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.

Court documents allege that the ABT enforced its rules and promoted discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, arson, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Members, and oftentimes associates, were required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as “direct orders.”

According to court documents, in order to be considered for ABT membership, a person must be sponsored by another gang member. Once sponsored, a prospective member must serve an unspecified term, during which he is referred to as a prospect, while his conduct is observed by the members of the ABT.

At sentencing, scheduled for Jan. 30, 2014, McNiel and Feathers each face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

McNiel and Feathers are two of 36 defendants charged with conducting racketeering activity through the ABT criminal enterprise, among other charges. They represent the 10th and 11th defendant charged in the indictment to plead guilty.

This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General; sheriff’s offices in Harris, Tarrant, Atascosa, Orange and Waller Counties; police departments in Alvin, Carrollton and Mesquite Texas; as well as the Montgomery and Atascosa County District Attorney’s Offices.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas and the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.